SEO is simple yet is based on core well defined principles. At the forefront is the understanding ofkeywords/keyword phrases and what affect they have on your ability to get targeted website traffic. Get yourKeyword Research wrong and you have wasted your time, effort and money.

Keyword/Keyword Phrase Explained

Keywords and phrases are search terms that your prospects are using to look for products and services online, especially the buyers.

“Keywords” is the key to SEO success.

With that understood, here are some tips to help you choose the right keywords for your website that will draw targeted visitors you are looking for.

Keyword Research Tools

There are a variety of keyword research tools, both free and paid. Unless you are an SEO professional, you’ll probably want to use the free tool provided by Google, called Google Keyword Tool External.

This tool is does the job and can be accessed by clicking the below link.

Search Volume

Search volume is an indicator that tells you how many times a particular keyword phrase is searched upon. The data is “search engine specific” so you will find that the numbers differ depending on which search engine’s data you are looking at. It’s important to note that Google tracks “local” and “global” search volume separately and can even tell you how frequently someone is searching the term with a mobile device.

You should consider the data to be more “comparative” than accurate. For example, if “keyword phrase #1″ is said to get 3,000 searches per month and “keyword phrase #2″ is said to get 500, it’s safe to say that keyword phrase #1 is more searched upon.

Competition

It’s vital to remember that most search engines only show ten “organic” listings on any page of the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). Because of this, you are competing with the websites/web pages that are already ranked for the keyword phrase(s) you have chosen. In order to get your web page listed on “page one” for a particular keyword phrase, you will have to rank higher than your competitors.

Know What Prospects Are Looking For

Before finalising your preferred keywords, it is important to think from the point of view of your prospects and customers conducting the search. Whilst your keyword research will tell you what keyword phrases are being searched upon, you must understand that there is a difference between buyers and people looking for information.